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Joe Cocker
After Jefferson Airplane's morning maniac performance at 8.00 am, Joe Cocker was the first officially scheduled act on Sunday. He went on stage at about 2.00 pm. Though Cocker was in the music business for quite a while, he was hardly famous. But after his triumphal success at Woodstock, the man with the soulful voice became known everywhere. Especially well received was the Beatles' cover song "With a Little Help from My Friends" which was the second performance of the song after Richie Havens' version on the first day. Cocker's backing band at that time was the superb Grease Band, ''a formation that lasted only two years. Shortly after Cocker's gig a heavy thunderstorm washed over the festival, and everything was brought to stop for several hours. __TOC__ Musicians * Joe Cocker - vocals * Henry McCullough - guitar, backing vocals * Alan Spenner - bass, backing vocals * Chris Stainton - keyboards, backing vocals * Bruce Rowland - drums Setlist # Rockhouse (The Grease Band without Joe Cocker) # Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring (The Grease Band without Joe Cocker) # Dear Landlord # Something's Coming On # Do I Still Figure in Your Life # Feelin' Alright # Just Like a Woman # Let's Go Get Stoned # I Don't Need a Doctor # I Shall Be Released # Hitchcock Railway # Something to Say # With a Little Help from My Friends Details If you ask anybody today about Woodstock they say that it was a huge hippie festival at the end of the 60s, that Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin played there . . . and that Joe Cocker performed "With a Little Help from My Friends." This is no big surprise because the song's performance helped define Woodstock. The backing vocals ask Cocker, "''Would you believe in a love at first sight?" To which he responds in a deep and croaky voice, "Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time." The keyboards are hammering and the drums are majestic as Cocker reaches the climax of his spastic movements - which he would become well known for. This song, which concluded his Woodstock set, was truly a highlight of the festival. The other songs of the setlist were equally well performed though not as intense as his Beatles cover. They come from the first two albums which were recorded by Joe Cocker and the Grease Band: With a Little Help from My Friends released in April 1969 and Joe Cocker! released after Woodstock in November 1969. The song "With a Little Help from My Friends" was already a number one hit in the UK in November 1968All Music Guide - Joe Cocker biography. Joe Cocker was known for cover versions of songs interpreted in his own Chicago-blues-influenced idiom. "Dear Landlord," "Just Like a Woman" and "I Shall Be Released" are written by Bob Dylan, "Let's Go Get Stoned" is a Ray Charles original and "With a Little Help from My Friends" comes from The Beatles. He and his band also performed three songs from the Psychedelic-Rock band Traffic: "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring", "40,000 Headmen" and "Feelin' Alright." The first two songs were played without Joe Cocker. The Michael Lang book ''The Road to Woodstock''Michael Lang: The Road to Woodstock, 2009, ISBN 0061576557 lists the first song as an untitled instrumental jam. It was identified as "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring"Yahoo! Woodstock Project mailing list - Grease Band "Jam" identifiedYahoo! Woodstock Project mailing list - Grease Band "Jam" identified (clarification). Availability Meanwhile the complete Joe Cocker set (minus the Grease Band warm-up songs) are available on Live at Woodstock. "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring" was additionally recorded by the audience. Audio * 1970: Woodstock I * 1994: Woodstock - Three Days of Peace and Music * 1994: Best of Woodstock * 2009: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm * 2009: Live at Woodstock Video * 1970: Woodstock * 1990: Woodstock: The Lost Performances * 1994: Woodstock Diaries Images Image:Joe Cocker01.jpg|Joe Cocker in tie-dyed shirt Image:Joe Cocker02.jpg|Joe Cocker Image:Joe Cocker03.jpg|Henry McCullough and bassist Alan Spenner Image:Joe Cocker04.jpg|Bruce Rowlands Image:Joe Cocker05.jpg|Joe Cocker Image:Joe Cocker06.jpg|Chris Stainton Image:Joe Cocker07.jpg|Joe Cocker Image:Joe Cocker08.jpg|Backing vocals by the guitarists, vocals by Joe Cocker Image:Joe Cocker09.jpg|Henry McCullough and Joe Cocker Image:Joe Cocker10.jpg|The Grease Band Image:Joe Cocker11.jpg|Joe Cocker spastic movement Image:Joe Cocker12.jpg|Joe Cocker joe cocker - woodstock 1969.jpg|Distant shot of the stage with Joe Cocker joe cocker - woodstock 1969 2.jpg|The Grease Band References Category:Artists